Detox Retox with Tom Schwartz

Episode: Booked And Busy As A Professional Model with Kiana Carroll

Release Date: November 11, 2025
Host: Tom Schwartz
Guest: Kiana Carroll, Professional Model

Episode Overview

This episode of Detox Retox with Tom Schwartz explores the realities, challenges, and not-so-glamorous moments of a working model’s career, told through the candid and lively experiences of Kiana Carroll. From humble beginnings and model apartments to the mental health implications of the industry and the importance of resilience, Tom and Kiana have a transparent, humor-filled conversation in Kiana’s Manhattan apartment—with plenty of real talk and memorable banter about the modeling world.

Key Topics & Insights

Setting the Scene: Life as a Working Model

• Location & Vibes: The episode is recorded in Kiana’s Manhattan apartment during fall in New York—her favorite time in the city. There’s local color, personal context, and authentic energy.
• Industry Gender Dynamics: Modeling is one of the few industries where women out-earn men and hold more power, but, as Kiana notes, “do we always feel that way? No, but we should.” (03:26)

Kiana’s Unexpected Entry into Modeling

• Serendipitous Start: Kiana was scouted in Orlando on a frozen yogurt run with her (now ex-) boyfriend. Despite not seeing herself as model material (“I had eight spray tans, no eyebrows, awful highlights”—06:00), the photographer’s connection to another Tampa-based model made her take the leap.
• Rapid Transition: “It might have all happened within a month. Within a month or two was I signed and then I had to wait until my semester was done, and that’s when I moved [to New York].” (06:18)

Navigating Early Career Challenges

• First Job & Learning: She booked her first casting on her very first work trip to New York (08:51). Kiana admits, “My first job, I didn’t really know how to model… the photographer told me ‘Okay, can you move?’ because I was just in the same pose for so long...” (11:23)
• Castings Explained: The casting process is “essentially like an audition… you’re going in, you’re meeting with them so they can see you in person and see if they want to book you.” (08:54)
• Comparison Culture: “Comparison isn’t what got me… it was the comparison to my friends… what’s wrong with me?” (14:42)

Mental Health, Longevity & Resilience

• Rejection & Self Worth: “If you allow your self-worth to be defined by how much you’re booking, it can be very dangerous.” (14:06)
• Career Slowdowns: Kiana learned to accept slow periods as time to rest and regroup: “Now, if it’s slow, I’m like, let me actually take this time to appreciate it.” (15:48)
• Coping with Industry Pressures: Tom and Kiana discuss body image, eating disorders, and perfectionism. “Body dysmorphia is definitely almost inevitable as a model… That is to no fault of just the nature of the job.” (21:58)

Money Matters & The Reality Behind the Glamour

• Earnings Spectrum: While top jobs pay big (“we’re not talking specific numbers… but you can make a lot”—18:41), bread-and-butter e-comm jobs are Kiana’s everyday staple. Delayed payments are common, particularly in NYC: “When I’m booked and busy in LA, it feels extra great because I know I’m getting those checks a lot faster.” (30:30)
• Organizational Skills: Kiana is highly organized about tracking jobs and payments: “I keep track of every single dollar I’ve ever made, what date I worked it… not everyone is.” (32:21)

Model Apartments: The Frat Houses of Fashion

• Tight Quarters & Camaraderie: New models often live in crowded agency-run apartments: “There were times I was in a very small New York City two-bedroom apartment with seven, eight girls in there...” (26:45).
• Drama & Friendship: “The best thing that can happen is if you find a friend in the model apartment. Even the worst of times, we had each other to sometimes laugh at it.” (28:29)
• Competition: “There’s a little bit of competition, too… they come home and they’re boasting about this big job… you’re doing E-comm for Amazon for like a thousand.” (29:30)

Social Media, Image & Market Perspective

• Instagram & Booking: While agencies place importance on social media, Kiana doesn’t post much: “I wish it could just be about modeling…” (33:21)
• Industry Shift: Tom senses the industry is moving away from social media obsession—but “for someone that doesn’t have a lot of followers, that works as well as I do… it is still somewhat the case.” (33:55)
• Favorite Markets: Kiana prefers the ease and support of LA for work but finds New York more competitive: “LA is my favorite market to work in.” (34:51)
• Longevity: “What's the best market? ...subjective. But you can work in your 30s, 40s, 50s… if you do it right and you’re in the right market." (34:24)

A Day in the Life: On Set & On the Grind

• Routine:
  • Early call time (8am typical)
  • Coffee/breakfast
  • Hair and makeup—“therapy with hair and makeup for an hour while they do your hair and makeup. You tell them everything.” (37:17)
  • On-set: “it’s a lot of standing… standing all day in heels is not always fun.” (38:01)
• Coping with ‘Ugly Days’: Ice rollers, herbal teas, and acceptance: “Sometimes I’m gonna go to set and I’m not gonna look good… grateful for those retouchers on those days.” (24:11)
• Resilience: “While I’m young and I have all these opportunities, I have somewhat of a say-no-to-nothing mindset… one day I know I’m not going to be working as much as I do.” (25:05)

Advice to Aspiring Models

• Resilience & Self-Esteem:

  "Don’t take it personal when you get rejections, because everyone gets rejection. Think about the top supermodels you know—they have been rejected. Don’t take it personal… It just wasn’t a good match.” (40:37)

• Practical Wisdom:
  • Track your earnings.
  • Be organized about jobs and invoices.
  • Build supportive friendships, especially in model housing.
  • Use slow periods for rest—not panic.
  • Don’t compare yourself to others' trajectories.

Memorable Quotes & Fun Moments

• On the Model Life:

  "You can't just be good looking. You have to have a skill—you have to feel powerful in your own body and you have to know how to move." – Tom Schwartz (11:52)

• On Model Apartments:

  "No privacy. It’s the best thing that can happen if you find a friend in the model apartment… I live in a twin bed with three twin beds right next to me with other girls. The door won’t close all the way." – Kiana Carroll (28:15)

• On Standout Model Skills:

  “My first job, I didn’t really know how to model… Now I know you gotta have movement throughout the whole time.” – Kiana Carroll (11:23)

• On Self-Image & Coping:

  “Everyone’s their own harshest critic. So even when I’m feeling awful, I know to an outsider, I probably don’t look that bad.” – Kiana Carroll (25:46)

• On Friendships & Competition:

  “You are comparing it to… you’re living with someone that’s going to Spain for 20,000, it’s like, oh, I did think that was a lot. And it is. But now it’s feeling a little bit less. $19,000 less.” – Kiana Carroll (29:59)

• On Longevity:

  "You can work in your 30s, in your 40s, in your 50s… if you do it right." – Tom Schwartz (34:24)

• On Model Rituals:

  “I will… get to set with an ice roller and I'm rolling the hell out of my face.” – Kiana Carroll (24:12)

• On Humble Beginnings:

  “Every accountant, every agency I’ve ever been at is probably sick of seeing my name because I used to be so annoying. Emailing, saying, has this job paid?” – Kiana Carroll (32:21)

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• (02:08–06:14) – Kiana describes how she was scouted and broke into modeling
• (08:06–11:52) – First casting, first job, and the learning curve of modeling
• (13:03–15:10) – The mental and emotional challenges of rejection and comparison
• (18:08–19:28) – The realities of model earnings
• (24:00–25:46) – Coping with bad days, rituals, and mindset
• (26:24–29:30) – Life in model apartments: friendships, drama, and survival tactics
• (32:49–34:51) – Social media, markets, and career longevity
• (37:05–38:55) – A typical day on set: routine and struggle
• (40:37–41:12) – Kiana’s top advice to aspiring models

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, witty, and supportive, with Tom and Kiana exchanging playful banter and heartfelt personal stories. The tone toggles between lighthearted confessions about model apartments and deeper reflections on self-esteem, career strategy, and resilience—all delivered in a way that feels both real and encouraging.

Summary for New Listeners

This episode demystifies the world of professional modeling, stripping away the glamorous surface for a look at the hustle, the heartbreak, the resilience, and the strategic planning it takes to build a real career. Kiana Carroll provides wisdom for aspiring models, reassurance about normal insecurities, and refreshing honesty about what goes into being truly “booked and busy.”

Whether you’re a model, an aspiring creative, or a curious listener, Kiana’s story will inspire you to persevere, stay organized, and most importantly, not take rejection personally.